September 18, 2011
Scotland, U.K.

The Prince of Wales faces wind farm opposite his bedroom window

By Richard Eden, The Telegraph, www.telegraph.co.uk 18 September 2011

The Prince of Wales, who opposes onshore wind farms, could wake up to see a 67ft turbine opposite his castle window.

The Prince of Wales is known to believe that wind farms are a “horrendous blot on the landscape”. Now, however, he faces having a turbine in view of his bedroom window.

A farmer is appealing against a decision by planners to refuse a wind turbine near the Castle of Mey in Caithness, where the heir to the throne stays for a week every August.

Highland Council refused the application to erect a single turbine earlier this year because it would spoil the view of the castle, which was the only home that was ever owned by the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

Barrogill Angus, a farmer, encountered opposition after he submitted an application to install a 67ft turbine on his ground to generate his own power.

The 18 objectors included Lord MacLennan of Rogart, the area’s former MP, who led Prince Charles’s North Highland Initiative.

A report to planners said the Caithness landscape, coastline, and views to Dunnet Head, were all “crucial elements” of the wider setting of the Castle of Mey, which is an A-listed building.

Officers claimed that the 20kw turbine would encroach on the view and have “a significantly detrimental impact on the wider setting of the castle and the associated designed landscape.”

Historic Scotland raised no objection, however, and maintained that the turbine was a sufficient distance away, as not to have a major impact on the castle, which has been run by a trust following the death of the Queen Mother, in March 2002.

In his appeal documents, Mr Angus claims that the turbine site had been picked after input from the Castle of Mey Trust administrator and Scottish Natural Heritage. He added that Historic Scotland had not objected. He also maintains that the council was “inconsistent” in assessing noise impact from the turbine on residents.

In 2004, The Sunday Telegraph disclosed that the Prince, who has an abiding interest in environmental issues, believed that the spread of wind farms must be halted before they irreparably ruined some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside. He told senior aides that he did not want to have any links with events or groups that promoted onshore wind farms.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/09/18/the-prince-of-wales-faces-wind-farm-opposite-his-bedroom-window/